LINCOLN, Neb. — Taylor Martinez’s teammates call him “T-Magic,” and now Nebraska football fans know why.
Martinez ran for 127 yards and three touchdowns and passed for 136 yards in a sensational debut that led No. 8 Nebraska to a 49-10 victory over Western Kentucky on Saturday night.
The redshirt freshman’s performance featured elusive and tough running along with sudden bursts of speed, the likes of which Nebraska hadn’t seen for a while from its quarterbacks. Martinez also showed he could pass a little.
All in all, Martinez validated coach Bo Pelini’s decision to elevate him over 2009 starter Zac Lee and last year’s top backup, Cody Green.
“I think I’m ready for it,” Martinez said.
The only redshirt or true freshman quarterback to start a season opener for Nebraska, Martinez became the first Huskers QB since 2003 to run for more than 100 yards in a game.
Martinez led Nebraska to touchdowns on his first two series and on four of his eight overall. Green led the Huskers to touchdowns on his two series. Lee, a senior who entered in the middle of the fourth quarter, handed off twice on a short touchdown drive and then ran out the last four minutes.
Pelini said Martinez’s strong body of work in preseason practices gave him the edge over Lee and Green.
“It was a really close race,” Pelini said. “In the end he was the guy who won the job. It wasn’t like one particular day or scrimmage.”
Martinez ran only seven times and averaged 18.1 yards per carry. The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder’s touchdown runs covered 46, 19 and 15 yards.
“He gets to top speed in a hurry,” said wide receiver Niles Paul, who gave Martinez the “T-Magic” nickname. “He’s surprisingly tough and he can break tackles. He’s a playmaker, and you saw it today.”
Martinez overshadowed a Nebraska defense that Pelini called an “embarrassment” against a Western Kentucky team that was winless in 2009 and has lost 21 straight.
Western Kentucky’s Bobby Rainey rushed 30 times for a career-high 155 yards and a touchdown against a unit that was ranked ninth nationally against the run last season.
The Hilltoppers, who crossed midfield just once in the first half — and then only because of a Nebraska penalty — dented the Huskers’ defense in the second half, when they generated 219 of their 299 yards.
“I don’t like anything we did defensively,” Pelini said.
Pelini kept the identity of his starting quarterback under wraps until about half an hour before the game. That’s when the Huskers’ starters introduced themselves in a video on the big-screen scoreboard. The sellout crowd roared when Martinez’s face appeared.
“I got chills throughout my body,” Martinez said. “I was glad the fans wanted me to start.”
